Getting Whupped in Chess

As a parent you eventually have a serious reality check, where you discover that your kid has reached a point where you're not 'letting' them win -- they really are truly outwitting you.

This happens when they reach about age 10 or so.

So Mira's in chess club now. Last few nights she's been playing chess against us for practice, and the last few games has been beating us... badly. I mean, we were playing tonight and she was in total control of the game the whole time, I was getting backed into corners at every turn.

So it's come to this: I'm sitting up late studying things like the Berlin Defense just so I can muster at least a respectable resistance the next few times we play. Of course, meanwhile she's been online studying the moves of Game Six of the Kasparov-DeepBlue match in 1997.

I'm doomed.